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Chapter Three: Storm Swept
Skye couldn't remember the last time she had been this tired.
She stood at the bow of the Argo I, wearing an actual chiton and sandals. Her blonde curls were pulled back into a simple braid. Her arms were spread, trying to control the storm raging against the board. She manipulated the wind and the lightning away, but could do nothing against the water.
Adrian was there for that. After a minute he took her hand, and together they were able to push the storm away and back out to sea.
When Adrian let go, Skye forced herself not to look at him. It was too painful. They had been here for three weeks, and they had mended their fences, but every day she wondered if breaking up with him was a mistake- or if it had been the best decision of her life.
Adrian cleared his throat as Jason approached- not her father, but his namesake, although they did look similar. "It's getting handier and handier having you too around," he said. "Makes me glad we fished you out from the sea."
They had been able to convince them they were demigods, and amongst his crew of Atalanta, Heracules, the Boreads, and more, they fit right in. The only downside was that everyone only spoke Ancient Greek- of course, after a few days of brushing up Skye and Adrian were practically fluent, but for Addie, born and raised in New Rome and learning only Latin... it was a struggle.
They were on their way to retrieve the gold fleece, and Skye was hoping maybe they could get some answers. If they had travelled back in time, the only way to get back was to find all of the Immorties again and open up a portal. But she had no idea where to start. Maybe if she proved herself on this quest, one of her godly grandparents would lend her a hand.
Sopping wet and tired, she went down to the hold of the ship to change and grab some sleep. Her watch shift was most definitely over, which meant she had about eight hours of shut eye before she was called up again. Of course, unless there was a storm she wouldn't be of any use- unlike Adrian she was hopeless with ropes and sails and whatnot.
She joined Addie in the room they shared with Atalanta, the only other woman on board. That was the other awful thing about the ship- besides it being thousands of years before their time- that she was stuck with a bunch of male sailors. Atalanta had been a huge help, since all the men were too scared of her to make a move, and she had extended her protection to them as well.
"How did it go?" Addie asked her in English when she entered the room. She was reading a few pages Skye had written of helpful words in Ancient Greek.
"Fine," Skye rubbed her temples, then collapsed on the beds, aka "pallets". Old timey lingo was hard.
She closed her eyes, immediately drifting into sleep.
In her dreams, she saw two teenagers. They looked about the same age as her, and strangely... familiar. One was a boy with soft blonde hair and blue eyes that shifted to green, then purple, then brown. The other was a girl with long caramel curls and bright golden eyes, holding a long golden calvary sword.
Then more people appeared behind them, teenagers who were familiar and yet not at the same time. She woke up in a sweat, panting. Addie was gone, probably off to keep watch. Atalanta was asleep on the floor.
She crept up the stairs, sunlight shining off of the water as the sun rose. Adrian at the edge, one hand on the rail. His eyes were closed, his hand out to the sea. "Hey," Skye said as she approached him.
"Hey," Adrian said back in Latin. It was the language they spoke when they didn't want anyone to understand them. Adrian's mother had taught him, and Skye knew it from summers in New Rome. She tried not to think about it often, but she was one of the only demigods who was both Greek and Roman.
"Did you get any sleep?" Skye asked. Adrian shook his head. "I can keep watch if you want to go down," she offered.
Adrian shook his head. "Not tired," he said.
Skye perched next to him, watching as dolphins jumped in the water. She was tempted to tell him about her dream, but instead she said, "We need to figure out how to get back home."
Adrian nodded. "I've been thinking about that," he said. "There has to be another way other than collecting all of the Immorties again. Maybe there are other stones for other gods, or even titans."
"Because each god's immortie reflects their powers," Skye realized. "So if we find Kronos's..."
"We might be able to go back in time," Adrian theorized. He flashed her a smile, and she stiffened. "What is it?" he asked.
Skye shook her head. "I just missed seeing that," she said. "Your smile."
Adrian sighed. "I've missed you, Skye. And not the tough Skye you've been showing everyone. The real Skye. Funny, kind, still tough but not mean Skye."
Skye shook her head. "I have to be tough," she said.
Adrian brushed his thumb across her cheek, light as a butterfly. Her heart pounded. "You never had to be with me," he whispered.
Suddenly the ship tilted, and they were thrown apart. Adrian steadied her, then ran to the helm. "What's going on?" he asked Jason.
Jason's face was grim. "We're near Colchis," he said. "It's almost time to get the Golden Fleece."
Skye glanced at Adrian, then watched as the crew began to assemble on the deck. The Boreads with their feathered wings, Atalanta clutching a dagger, and countless other heroes she had only heard of in stories. And now, she was part of them. She was one of them.
But how much longer could she be one of them until she was lost in time forever?

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Rising Heroes Book Four: The Sands of Ouroboros
FanfictionTheir worlds are colliding, and there's no going back. Demigods and Grigori have been lost to time, sent back to the moments their parents battled great evil. Stuck on the Argo I, with the Hunters of Artemis, in the Labyrinth, in Santorini, and figh...